Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.02.2018, Side 26

SELECTION
FROM BEST OF
REYKJAVÍK
2017
Best Thai Food
Ban Thai
Laugavegur 130
Despite being located on a dis-
tant island that’s nowhere near
Thailand, Ban Thai is one of
those rare gems in Iceland that
consistently delivers tongue-
tickling Thai fare. These guys
mean business. They have
something for everyone on
their extensive menu—from
creamy coconut curries from
the South to fiery “jungle”
dishes from the north. Our fa-
vourites are the laab (minced
meat salad with generous piles
of fresh herbs) and the green
curry with strips of crunchy
bamboo shoots. As a regular on
our panel quipped: “Anything
good enough for Russell Crowe
is good enough for me.”
Best Beer Selection
Microbar
Vesturgata 2
Microbar was back in the beer
throne in 2017 after being oust-
ed from the Best of Reykjavík
awards for a couple of years.
Since moving to its new cosy
location it has gained points
for the calm atmosphere, help-
ful staff and good music played
at perfect conversation volume.
They still boast their classic lo-
cal beer tastings for the brew
connoisseur as well as a huge
selection of beers for the casual
taster. Their selection is just as
wide as runners up Skúli and
Mikkeller, but they edged them
out by serving larger beers for
the same price.
BEST OF GUIDES
The Cocktail Crawl
Let’s class it up a bit in here
Words: John Rogers Photos: Art Bicnick
Few words look better together in
the English language than “cock-
tail happy hour,” especially in
Reykjavík, where liquor comes at
a premium. With an ever-growing
cocktail culture, and a strong tradi-
tion of bars and restaurants having
after-work (or during work, for that
matter) happy hours, it’s increas-
ingly possible to sip something
light and sour or dark and sweet
without having to first mortgage
your pancreas.
15:00-18:00
Slippbarinn, Mýrargata 2
This well-known and much-loved
cocktail palace is located in the
airy, fancy, design-y bar of Hotel
Marina. Their cocktail list is rap-
idly-changing and experimental,
often using Icelandic ingredients
like birch liquor and Brennivín, but
the bar staff are some of the best in
town when it comes to doing the
classics, however you like them.
During happy hour, you can get a
wide range of cocktails for 1,200
ISK. Or a beer for 500 ISK. But why
would you want beer? It’s cocktail
happy hour.
16:00-18:00 (not Monday)
Marshall Bar + Restaurant,
Grandagarður 20
Perched out on the end of Grandi,
this airy, spacious bar sits beneath
three floors of cutting-edge art
galleries. This means that if you’ve
carefully timed your weekly cultur-
al intake, and perused what’s go-
ing on in Kling & Bang and NÝLÓ,
you’re right on cue for a cut-price
cocktail. They tend towards the
long and fruity side, but that just
means it’s a good place to start your
evening.
16:00-18:00
Pablo Discobar, Veltusund 1
Pablo Discobar is quite a maximal-
ist drinking environment, from
the all-pattern-
everything de-
cor to the floor
bongo (for, god
help us all, cus-
tomer use). But
one thing it has
in its favour is a
mighty cocktail
list, and top-
notch bartend-
ers to back it up. Our favourites are
the drinks containing pisco and ab-
sinthe, but nothing we’ve tried here
has let us down.
16:00-20:00
Bar Ananas, Klapparstígur 38
This tropical-themed drinking
hole has a fun held-together-with-
scotch-tape feel about it. It won
the “best place to start the night”
award in the winter issue of our
Best of Reykjavík magazine, with
good reason: the bartender’s Cock-
tail of the Day will set you back just
1,600 ISK during happy hour.
19:00-21:00
Veður, Klapparstígur 33
This ticked away spot on Klap-
parstígur has a timely after-work
cocktail hour (actually two) when
you can get anything on the menu
for the not-bad-for-Reykjavík price
of 1,500 ISK. They do the classics
well, from a generous espresso
martini to a sharp and pungent ne-
groni, and if you can get a window
seat it’s a great place to while a few
hours watching the world go by.
22:00-0:00 (Wed-Sat)
Hverfisgata 12,
Hverfisgata 12
“The Pizza Place With No Name”
has diversified since it opened,
launching a killer brunch menu,
and a stellar cocktail list. With all
kinds of unusual ingredients, unfa-
miliar bitters and liquors hanging
around, the classics tend to come
with some pleasantly surprising
flavours, and they’re always trying
out a new recipe or two. Cocktails
are priced 2,000 ISK on happy hour,
and they’re worth every króna.
Best of Reykjavík
gpv.is/bestof
Get to know Iceland
26The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 02 — 2018
More info:
Be sure to
check out our
Happy Hour
listings, on page
41, and the Appy
Hour app on iOS
and Android
ramen
momo
“ The
Icelandic
ramen ”
Tryggvagata 16
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